Zimbabweans fumes over call to hike vehicle import duty

THE Motor Industry Association of Zimbabwe (MIAZ) has reacted angrily to Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda's proposal for a 150% hike on import duty for second-hand vehicles.

Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda speaks at the Zimra parliamentarians workshop at Rainbow Towers Hotel yesterday

MIAZ president Luckson Gwara told NewsDay yesterday that the proposal to raise duty to 150% was not in sync with what they had crafted in the Motor Industry Development Policy, which is currently before Cabinet.

"I am not sure what way he (Mudenda) wants to go about it, whether it is in sync with what we crafted as the Motor Industry Development Policy, because I have not read his statements," he said.

"But, our view is that, while we attend to this, we still need to allow people to be able to drive vehicles.

"Obviously, the vehicles they are importing are much cheaper than anywhere else and in any case, we are not building (sic) any vehicles, so it is more to do with controlling."

Gwara said while they were crafting the Motor Industry Development Policy, some issues had been discussed such as the age of cars that were being imported and whether the used vehicles could be serviced locally.

He proposed that dealers should then be the ones to bring in second-hand vehicles, whose parts should be readily available locally in order to save on foreign currency.

Yesterday, Mudenda said he believed the poor deserved better and should be allowed to import vehicles without hassles upon getting a permit from the Industry ministry.

Mudenda on Tuesday caused an uproar after suggesting customs duty for second-hand vehicles be raised from the current 96% to 150% to cut on the country's import bill.